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Spanish primary schools to teach lessons on military

Spanish primary school children will be taught about the country’s army, under a new addition to the curriculum formulated by the defence ministry.

Pupils between the ages of 6 and 12 will be taught the words to martial songs such as La Banderita, which was used during colonial wars in Morocco, or asked to model military vehicles from putty after watching a parade.

Other activities include identifying the differences between cities before and after a war or playing noughts and crosses using the emblems of the Army, Air Force or Navy.

Some of the material in the course has been criticized by Save the Children who objected to the inclusion of immigration in a section entitled “threats to Spanish values”.

The lessons are optional, and the government suggests it could replace other non-compulsory subjects such as religion.

Catalan nationalists last month lost a bid in the Spanish parliament to have the proposals shelved.